The Edge Edgefield United Methodist Church Newsletter Kathie Wilson-Parker Pastor February 2017

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1 The Edge Edgefield United Methodist Church Newsletter Kathie Wilson-Parker Pastor February 2017 Is it a sin not to attend worship? I was surprised when I read that the Roman Catholic Church had removed missing worship from a list of sins. I hadn t thought of it as a sin. I know that conditions in our lives may make it impossible to attend. But then I started thinking about it. Sin is anything that separates us from God, keeps us from growing in our faith, or harms ourselves or others. (Hang on to that thought.) What keeps us from attending worship? One thing is anger or frustration with the pastor or other people in the congregation. We rarely talk with the person, assuming that we heard or understood correctly what was said or done. In Matthew 5:43-45 (KJV), Jesus says: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for [emphasis added] them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Note the discussion of how to pray for another person in this selection adapted from an article in The Daily Times, Saturday, January 21, 2017: Matt Hall is a 26-year-old who will be the 2017 Appalachian Trail Chaplain for the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. He was in active addiction for six years before choosing to get clean. His goal as a Christian is now to help others remove the obstacles in their lives that prevent them from seeing and knowing Christ. It was no easy journey, from addiction to this new life of hope, Hall told the crowd. He said he grew to resent other people in his life and even himself. Resentment is nothing more than recycled anger that I had decided to hang onto, he said. Learning from those who know Then he got a great piece of advice from the Big Book and started praying for those people he resented. Not that their brakes would fail as they drove down a steep hill. Prayers for them like the prayers for himself. [Emphasis added.] It worked, Hall said, although it took some time. Someone else s sin will separate them from God. Our resentment of them will separate us from God, from God s grace and mercy, and from the people of God. It also blinds us to the image of God in the other person. Jesus emphasized forgiveness over and over. We pray for it every Sunday: And forgive us our trespasses, as [in the same way] we forgive those who trespass again us. Hanging on to resentment and basing our behavior on our ill feelings means we haven t forgiven. Is that the way in which we want God to forgive us? Is it a sin not to attend worship because we are offended by someone? What do you think? Praying for the grace to forgive and be forgiven. Kathie

2 What are you doing and giving? -- Our Bishop of Holston Conference, Bishop Mary Elizabeth Dindy Taylor has challenged each person attending our churches to find a way to give 10 hours of service and $10 for MINISTRIES WITH CHILDREN IN POVERTY. You may already be doing something that touches the lives of children in poverty. You may want to volunteer at a local school or community ministry. One group wrote notes to encourage and calm children before they took tests. What is God inspiring, nudging, urging, or bugging you to do? Congratulations to Mary Hughes Middle School Basketball Team in winning the Big Three Conference on January 18. Makayla Shaw qualified for state in the track indoor meet so she will be going to Nashville 2/19. She will be running in the DMR (distance medley relay) and the mile race. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Feb. 5 8:00 am United Methodist Men (CLC) Feb. 12 3:00 pm My Job Training at Colonial Heights UMC (training areas include: Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committee, Lay Leaders, Finance and Trustees, and Stewardship) Feb. 14 6:00 pm United Methodist Women (Library) Feb :30 am Second Harvest Run for food pantry Feb. 18 8:30 10:00 am Food Pantry Distribution. Feb. 24 8:30 am Second Harvest Run Feb. 26 after worship Table for One? at Giovanni s in Piney Flats STATISTICS: December 2016 Averages Worship 110 Sunday School 49 Average Budget Offering $3, (Needed $3,365.00)

3 Life Lessons Taught by Momma It is the 25 th day of January and I am looking out at sunshine. That isn t so surprising, but the fact that for almost two weeks every day has been in the 60 s and 70 s is. I hate to sound predictable, but I miss winter. I have always loved snowy weather even before I became a teacher. Most people hate it due to having to drive in it. Those people did not have my mother as a role model. I honestly cannot remember Momma ever cancelling going somewhere because of snow. She would just back that car out of the garage and take off. The woman had no fear. I am not talking about getting to life or death events. I am talking getting to her weekly bowling game or grocery shopping. Momma was the best at preparing us to play outside in the snow too. She would bundle us up so well we could play outside for hours before getting too cold to continue. Coming back inside the house was the best though. When you got inside there was hot chocolate waiting along with clothes that had been in the dryer to warm them up. Love of snow is not the only thing my mother taught me. She taught me to love family over everything. She lost both of her parents when they were in their 60 s. Instead of mourning their loss for years to come, she celebrated their lives by being the best person she could be. She became closer to Daddy s parents. My grandfather (daddy s dad) loved and depended on Mom so much, that by his death at the age of 94 in his mind she was and always had been his own daughter. He was of very sound mind when he died too. Momma taught me to cook. When she was growing up her grandmother lived with them and did not allow anyone in her kitchen to cook. Therefore, when Mom got married she was clueless about even the basics in the kitchen. Daddy still tells the story of how she was making him iced tea. She boiled the water, put ice in a glass, added a tea bag, pouring the water in the glass. She became not only an adequate cook, but a very good cook. Her baking skills were legendary. We finally found her recipe, that has been missing since she died six years ago, this past Thanksgiving for her chocolate cream cheese cake. I was a rock star for baking Granny s cake. Momma taught me patience. She not only said the serenity prayer, she lived it. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Momma never sweated the small stuff. She never held on to anger about anything. Money was never an issue for Mom. Not because she always had so much, but because she was just as happy if she had a dollar in her pocket as when she had a thousand dollars. Daddy swears they had the perfect system. He worked and brought money in the front door and Mom took it out the back door. She always paid bills on time, and the first thing deducted from pay was their tithes to the church. After Daddy retired, they did all the things they wanted and went everywhere they wanted to go. Momma would tell us, We are spending your inheritance and loving every minute of it. They were a joy to watch. Mom taught me so many things that I am grateful to know. The best thing my mom taught me was to love God and trust in him always. She had the ability to turn things over to God that were too big for her to handle. This is something I still struggle with, although I keep trying. This April will be six years since Momma went to her heavenly home. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful memories of her. Any time the grandchildren are all together the Granny stories that make them laugh are retold once more. Daddy has often apologized to me because he talks of her all the time. I don t know how to make him understand that the things he tells are soothing to my soul. Besides, how could you live with someone for 61 years and not have them in every story you tell? The best gift we can give Momma now, because I have no doubt she is watching over us, is to not mourn her loss daily, but to celebrate her life by being the people she taught us to be. I only hope I make her proud. Cathy Sidebottom

4 My Job Training Feb. 12 at 3:00 pm Colonial Heights United Methodist Church 631 Lebanon Road Kingsport, TN We are excited to announce a joint "My Job Training" event between the Johnson City and Kingsport Districts. We will begin our time together briefly talking about the United Methodist Church's special emphasis on the 4 Areas of Focus to make vital congregations: 1. Engaging in Ministry with the Poor 2. Improving Global Health 3. Developing Principled Christian Leaders 4. Creating New and Renewed Congregations. This is only an introduction and should not take more than 10 minutes. Then we are happy to announce training in the following areas: Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committees, led by Lauri Jo Cranford, Kingsport District Superintendent. Lay Leaders, led by Nan Carver, Johnson City District Lay Leader Finance and Trustees, led by Rick Cherry, Holston Conference Treasurer Stewardship led by Roger Redding and Paul Bowman, Holston Conference Foundation Our time together should last approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Our youth will share at worship on February 5 about what was most meaningful to them! 10,000 ATTEND YOUTH SPIRITUAL EVENT IN PIGEON FORGE By Annette Spence Youth gave a total offering of $20,726, to be divided between Sevier Co. wildfire relief and Youth Service Fund. PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Jan. 23, 2017) -- For the 32nd year, United Methodist youth from east Tennessee, southwest Virginia and north Georgia hopped into church vans and headed to a spiritual winter weekend in Sevier County's tourist paradise. "Resurrection" was held Jan at LeConte Event Center in Pigeon Forge with about 10,000 attending, according to Laura Lambert McLean, associate director of connectional ministries for Holston Conference. Excluding volunteers, production staff and guests, the total was 9,786, divided in two sessions. The crowd also included participants of other faiths and states. Music was provided by Rend Collective, a northern Ireland Christian worship band. Two months after historic wildfires swept through Sevier County, the annual offering will be divided for Holston Conference wildfire relief and Youth Service Fund. Total offering was $20,726, McLean said.

5 FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Austin Casasola 5 Blanche Cross 5 Marcie Fletcher 6 Pansy Wilkinson 7 Betty Hale 7 Lynn Cross 9 Teri Fox 9 Lavonne Gentry 10 Jimmy Oliver 13 Mark Lewis 15 Mike Chapman 16 Howard Smith 16 Andy Lacey 16 Sam Elliott 19 George Kendrick 25 Pat Tester 27 Chloe Lacey 28 ANNIVERSARIES George & Helen Kendrick 24 *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*++*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*